Hello, everyone! I am officially back in the States! Thank you for all the birthday wishes and if you wish to see some of my adventures, feel free to look at my Instagram. The trip was wonderful and full of delicious food.
I will also have to return to South Korea in about a month because my baby brother (yes, he is 30 but will always be “baby brother”) is getting married! Very excited, but since I used all my vacation time, my partner and I will be flying there, celebrating, and coming back in five days. Please pray that the jetlag gods will be kind to me.
My trip also really makes me want to get back on the kdrama train. Do any of you have some current recs from within the last couple years? Ones I’ve previous enjoyed are Boys Over Flowers, Fated to Love You, Crash Landing on You, and City Hall. Help me!
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Lumberjanes is turning ten! There is currently a Kickstarter to back a special anniversary edition, plus some extra collectibles. Are you a Lumberjanes fan?
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Nat Henry (@NatMakesMaps on Twitter) has launched “an interactive map that shows walkable, bikeable, and transit-friendly neighborhoods across every block in the United States.” It automatically defaults to Seattle, but you can search other cities.
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Tropes & Trifles, a romance bookstore in Minneapolis, had their grand opening! I saw some pictures from the amazing turnout. If any of you went, we’d love to hear about it!
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I know I’m way late, but apparently over a decade ago, NASA put together a list of the most scientifically plausible films of all time. The list originally lived on Moviefone’s blog, which isn’t really around anymore. I feel like we should all take the list with a grain of salt, but peep number seven! I’d also love an updated list.
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Don’t forget to share what cool or interesting things you’ve seen, read, or listened to this week! And if you have anything you think we’d like to post on a future Wednesday Links, send it my way!
Amazon is celebrating World Book Day, with any one of six ebooks from around the world (selected by Amazon) available without charge through 30 April.
Right now I’m watching Queen of Tears (currently airing; last two episodes drop this weekend) and loving it. At the end of the first episode every character (except one) seems utterly horrible and irredeemable, but there’s character growth and development and as the show progresses we see what in each character’s experience made them the way they are now.
(Can you even call something a Kdrama if it doesn’t have a redemption arc? I’m not sure you can…)
A few more I’ve liked a lot: A Business Proposal – our heroine goes on a blind date in her best friend’s place, only to find that it’s with the CEO of the company she works for. Our chaebol hero’s grandfather is pushing him to get married, and he and she decide a fake engagement seems like a good way to reduce the pressure. The 2nd lead couple are also delightful.
Crash Course in Romance – our heroine (a retired national athlete who now runs a banchan [side dish] shop) and our hero (a celebrity math teacher at an expensive academy) take an immediate dislike to each other when they first meet, but their relationship develops as he tutors her daughter in preparation for the college entrance exam.
Hometown Cha Cha Cha>/i> – a dentist moves her practice from Seoul to a small seaside town and gets to know the locals, including the village chief, a charming and highly competent jack-of-all-trades whose past holds mysteries.
Marry My Husband – our heroine, who is dealing with terminal cancer, is killed by her husband when she she walks in on him having an affair with her best friend. She wakes up and finds that it’s 10 years earlier and embarks on a mission to get the husband and best friend to marry each other, only fate seems not to want to be shifted…
Twinkling Watermelon – another time-slip movie, in which our hero goes back to before he was born, when his parents were in high school, and tries to both ensure that they get together and prevent the accident that caused his father’s deafness. (CN: some of the D/deaf characters are on the receiving end of ignorance and prejudice from hearing characters; one character is shown being isolated and abused by members of their family because of their deafness.)
What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim – Secretary Kim has been the exemplar perfect executive assistant for the past nine years to her vain and self-absorbed chaebol boss. So why has she suddenly announced that she’s going to quit? And can he persuade her not to?
I loved Lumberjanes for a long, long time. I read all the way through Issue 72 (Vol. 18 if you read the collections). I finally stopped because nothing was happening. With so many different writers and illustrators the quality of the artwork varied wildly, and the plot never advanced. It was really, really disappointing for mw as someone who really adored the series. And it looks like the series ended two volumes later- I had no idea.
All that being said, since I already own the first 18 volumes, id love it if I could back the campaign for a few of the add-ons (like the stickers and the journal!).
I was unable to go to the Tropes & Trifles grand re-opening Saturday, as I had to work, but I went Sunday with some friends. Saturday was INTENSE and AMAZING from all that I have heard, with people standing in line for hours to get in, but everyone was by all accounts kind and supportive and generous. Sunday was a little more chill, and my friends and I had a great time. Their new space is lovely, and they have a wonderful expanded selection of books, as well as delightful merch (their new branded stuff has all sold out, but they have more on order). And I saw The Boot! Can’t wait to go back once my wallet has recovered a bit.
I have become a little obsessed with the film Robot Dreams. It’s an absolute delight and I would highly recommend it to romance readers in particular. An animation, set in 1980s New York, it’s the story of lonely Dog, who buys himself a robot friend. There is joy and angst and an eventual HEA and the detail is perfect. No dialogue, just soundtrack and it works perfectly. Oscar nominated but lost out.
I have seen it three times at the cinema and plan another visit next week.
It’s probably difficult to find in an actual theatre but as soon as it pops up on whichever streaming service you have access to, run to your TV/laptop/tablet and I promise you will come out the other side with an enormous grin and an Earth, Wind and Fire earworm!
The trailer is on YT, I am writing this on my phone, so am not going to tempt the tech glitch gods by trying to post it.
As one very familiar with the species, it’s jet lag demons, not gods. I haven’t found flattery to help much in dampening their fervor for inflicting suffering. But may you both slide under their radar on your quick turnaround for baby bro’s wedding!
Welcome home, Amanda, and thanks for sharing your pictures. I hope you and your partner will have a great time celebrating with your brother and his spouse next month.
Hugs, @Amanda! Excited at your travel and congratulations to your baby brother and your families! Reminds me of when we hauled our three kids to Jeju for BiL and SiL’s wedding–soooo beautiful, but boy, jet lag with little kids is just not super fun, LOL! May you be able to spring back quickly!
As for Kdrama, my two younger kids watched Start-Up; I saw a few episodes, and it looked entertaining! I don’t watch a lot of stuff, but if I find others to rec, I’ll be sure to comment!
I can’t remember if I recommended it here before, but I watched Extraordinary Attorney Woo on Netflix. I might not have done so if there hadn’t been English audio tracks. I know everybody seems to dislike those, but blindness prevents me from watching any other way.
I saw Crash Landing On You a while back and it was cute. Silly (person crosses line between North and South Korea via hanglider) but cute.
Extraordinary Attorney Woo!!! A woman with autism works as a lawyer. I was initially hesitant on the premise (the actress is not neurodivergent as far as I know) but it was extremely cute and sweet.
The same actress is in another fave of mine, The King’s Affection. Its a historical drama, and because of kdrama politics the protagonist has to impersonate her deceased twin brother for years. And her tutor falls in love with her- while thinking she’s a man. Very queergender in a way I don’t see often in traditional dramas.
Recently though I’ve been on a C-drama kick. I’m currently watching Lost Romance, in which a romance book editor and an overbearing CEO end up in a shared coma and fall in love in the dream world and then fall in love again in the real world. Its VERY tropey but much better than I first assumed. Its on Viki if anyone is interested in some C-drama romance tropes.
I’m so NOT up to date on kdramas because I don’t have streaming anything or internet or a computer at home, but “Winter Sonata” is classic for very good reason. I have a DVD boxed set of the show and it is my precious.
I highly recommend Mr. Queen if you like sageuks! It has a silly premise that the soul of a male modern chef gets transported into the body of a Joseon queen but somehow it works and is just so much fun. It also has a ton of cooking scenes that are just wonderful. I’ve watched the whole thing through twice and found even more to enjoy the second time around. I’ve been on quite the kdrama kick for the last three years (pretty much the only genre that I watch) and this is one of my favorites.
Fan favorite webtoon Marry My Husband has been made into a K-Drama https://www.imdb.com/title/tt26628595/
My favorite K-Dramas at the moment are (in no particular order):
Marry My Husband- which several others have recommended here!
Her Private Life- staring the same actress as Marry My Husband, a secret fan-girl gets a new boss who 1) assumes she is a closeted lesbian and proposed being her fake boyfriend so people don’t find out, 2) falls in love with her and figures out she is not a lesbian but is a secret fan-girl 3) proposes a work collaboration with the singer that she is a fan-girl of, and 4) is trying to learn about his past as he was dropped off at an orphanage at the age of 7 and then adopted by American parents.
Captivating the King- She is masquerading as a man to earn money playing Baduk, and befriends/falls for the kings brother (also a master Baduk player). When the King dies things go horribly wrong and the prince thinks she is dead. 3 years later she comes back to get revenge on the Prince (now king) and works her way into becoming his Baduk partner. So many court maneuverings and two very smart people who love each other figuring out if they can trust one another and what kind of life they can have inside their rigid society roles.
Love to Hate You- can a guy who doesn’t trust women and a woman who doesn’t trust men fake date their way to love? Yup, with an english dub.
Beauty Within- She is an actress with a bad reputation who is hiding that for a week each month she transforms into someone else of any age/gender/race and has no control over it (it is at once a metaphor for menstruation and also being trans?). He is a chaebol who has face blindness so he recognizes her even when she doesn’t look like herself. His reaction when she calls him to pick her up from the police because she currently looks like a 17 year old boy, has been in a fight, and needs her “dad” to come get her, was a highlight. Secondary players include his sister who wants to punish him by taking over his company while falling for the actress’s best friend, who is trying to become a priest.
CW: some characters are openly homophobic, which contrasts to the quiet but still there thread of the hero figuring out his relationship with his girlfriend when she is in someone else’s body.
100 days my prince- the crown prince commands that all unmarried people over 20 get married to avoid sleeping with his own wife, escapes an assassination attempt, gets amnesia and mistaken for a peasant, is forced to marry his childhood sweetheart who is hiding out as a peasant after her family was accused of treason. Add in much historical court drama, the crown princess who is pregnant with not her husband’s baby, and some wonderfully meddling side characters, and this show is all about pining and personal growth.
I saw a free screener of THE IDEA OF YOU and enjoyed it a lot. Age gap romance. Drops on prime next week.
Not an ad–I didn’t see this screener for reviews.
Oof. That interactive map needs some work. It shows blocks in my neighborhood that contain a grocery store as being 15-20 minutes walk from a grocery store. Yikes!
With regards to Kdramas, if you want a long one, My Golden Life was a lot of fun. It had several different romances. Warning: it got extended halfway through, so all of a sudden a lot more misunderstandings and dramas are injected. It’s totally cheesy and I was totally addicted.
I love K dramas and wish I was fluent in Korean so I could watch them more! That said, I love and would rewatch the following:
Hometown Cha Cha Cha ( I love this one so much. Romance but also about community. )
Because This is My First Life
Romance is A Bonus Book
Lovestruck in The City
Last night I made a list of new ones I want to watch. I don’t care for the ones that are dubbed in English typically because I think it ends up losing a lot of character and charm but I also need shows that I can embroider to or not have to use my brain to watch.